I am writing in response to the troubling Feb. 15 editorial âÄúLet Iran have its nuke.âÄù Let me begin where the editorial started, with the 1953 coup of Mohammad Mosaddegh. Iran was involved in an oil group, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, with Britain. After learning that American-owned companies were evenly splitting revenue with Saudi companies, Iran wanted to renegotiate its agreement with Britain. When negotiations led by the United States ultimately failed, Mosaddegh moved to nationalize IranâÄôs oil wells. This was interpreted by the United States as a move toward socialism (and the Soviet Union). The subsequent decision to remove Mosaddegh was therefore based in national security interests, not oil ambitions. If the editorial board would have written an article pushing for cultural understanding with Iran, I would understand. In fact, cultural understanding is most important in times of conflict. However, arguing that we should allow Iran to procure a nuclear weapon is egregious, dangerous and jaw dropping. The editorialâÄôs historical perspective seems to stop in 1953, even though the greatest prescriber for Iranian actions came after 1979. Since 1979, Iran has been a destabilizing force in the Middle East, and a key tenet of Grand Ayatollah KhomeneiâÄôs founding doctrine is to export the Islamic revolution worldwide. As the largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran is responsible for thousands of deaths worldwide. Among other acts, this doctrine includes the founding of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, both of which are terrorist groups armed and funded by Iran. The editorial board also compares Iran to other nuclear nations, such as Pakistan. I believe that the world is a more dangerous place because Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons. The standoff between those two nations has the potential to create more death and destruction than any other international dispute in the worldâÄôs history. WhatâÄôs more, if a radical regime rose to power in unstable Pakistan, it would have unrestricted access to the countryâÄôs nuclear arsenal. A radical regime is currently in power in Iran. The Iranian people tried to remove this regime from power, but the regime crushed opposition by cracking skulls and murdering college students. If I could go back in time and stop Pakistan and India from gaining nuclear capabilities I would. Today, we must do all that we can to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon so we arenâÄôt looking back in time and saying, âÄúWhat else could I have done?âÄù The stakes are too great this time around. Alexander Abrams University undergraduate student